WHAT IS STORMBRINGER?

I've been on the road a LOT, at least 50% of the past two-and-a-half years, to all the garden spots: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Dem. Rep. of the Congo, Pakistan, El Salvador (OK that wasn't so bad), Israel (THAT was a fun trip!), Bangladesh, South Africa, South Sudan, Kenya, Mali and East Timor. Work has interfered with writing, which is my main thing - or at least, I wish I could make it my main thing. Time for a realignment of the aiming stakes. If you're a new visitor to Blog STORMBRINGER, this is what it's all about. If you have seen it before, consider this refresher training. Cheers, and thank you for your support! -S.L.

STORMBRINGER is a military blog, primarily dedicated to honoring heroes of the great US / UK / ANZAC / CANADA / ISRAEL Alliance in this conflict forced upon us by the Evildoers of Islamic Fundamentalism. Themes include reports on international security, great battles and notable events of military history, the greatness of Ancient Greece and Rome (and how the civilization of Ancient Rome still exists and prevails), the story of United States Army Special Forces (the Green Berets) and of course from time to time bits of my personal philosophy; inspired by Aristotle, Cicero, Atilla the Hun, John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, the Duke of Wellington, Winston Churchill, Ayn Rand and Rush Limbaugh, to name a few.

An essential ingredient of my personal philosophy - a.k.a. The Philosophy of STORMBRINGERISM - is what Ayn Rand refers to as laizee-faire capitalism. The phrase laissez-faire (pronounced: lah-zay-fair) is French and literally means "let do", but it broadly implies "let it be", or "leave it alone." In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies.

Also from Ayn Rand, I embrace the concept of Human Exceptionalism; the belief that human beings have special status in nature based on their unique capacities. This belief is the grounding for some naturalistic concepts of human rights. Taking it a step further, Rush Limbaugh describes the philosophy of American Exceptionalism: the theory that the United States is qualitatively different from other nations. This stems from our emergence from a revolution, and the uniquely American ideology, based on liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism and laissez-faire. This observation is traced to Alexis de Tocqueville, the first writer to describe the United States as "exceptional."

STORMBRINGERISM is also about the Cult of the 1911 and the individuals right to self-defense - up to and including lethal force - is a justifiable defense in a court of law:

Pistol US M1911 .45ACP

But, you say, how does this include the Great Alliance; our worthy allies the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel?

Simple: the American experience would not have been if the foundations of Democracy had not been laid in Britain, and before that in Ancient Rome, and before that Ancient Greece. In that, the UK is the Mother Country - has been and always will be - and by default this makes Canada, Australia and New Zealand our brothers and sisters.

But . . . but . . . what about tiny (yet MIGHTY) Israel?

Israel is the oldest country, and at the same time the youngest. The ancient Egyptian Empire and civilization has come and gone . . .

Nobody speaks in hieroglyphics anymore.

. . . and the people who built the pyramids are not the same folks who live in Egypt today. Likewise Babylon . . .

Nobody speaks in cuneiform anymore.

. . . it is gone, ground into the dust, even less of it left than in Egypt. There is still a Syria, but the ancient Assyrian Empire is dead and gone and it's people flung far and wide across the globe in diaspora.

Of these ancient kingdoms and empires of the Old Testament, only Israel remains, the smallest - yet most powerful - of all the countries of the Middle East.

The oldest country in the Middle East is also the only modern democracy in the Middle East.

Modern Israel exists because of Britain and the United States - if it was up to the rest of Europe and the Middle East there wouldn't even be anybody left to occupy a State of Israel. The Islamists - al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Mullah-led theocracy of Iran - view Israel as a Western foothold in their territory, much like the Crusader Kingdoms a thousand years ago. They - the radicals who have hijacked Islam - consider it only a question of time until they drive the Israelis into the sea and get that land back.

As such, Israel is with us, or like the Israeli girls say:

"Don't worry America - ISRAEL IS BEHIND YOU ! ! !"

"VISIT ISRAEL BEFORE ISRAEL VISITS YOU."

Speaking of babes, when I first signed up, SOLDIER Magazine always had a bikini babe featured on the back cover. Along the way they started rationing the cheesecake until sometime toward the end of my first tour I picked up a copy of SOLDIER and flipped to the back page. Staring back at me was a sergeant; all cami'd up and in full battle rattle - talk about taking a hard dose of reality. Well every now and then some imagery may appear on STORMBRINGER that is a throwback to an earlier, simpler time when it was okay for a warrior to tape a pinup girl in his wall locker, or depict one on the nose of his mighty war machine:

People send me all kinds of stuff to post in STORMBRINGER and I appreciate all the support I get. Most of the material sent is political, Tea Party/Make America Great Again-themed stuff - which is great, although I usually tend to wave off politics because it's done elsewhere, and I don't have time enough to dedicate the energy & creative juices to do it right.


STORMBRINGER SENDS

THE BIRDS

People send me all kinds of stuff to post in STORMBRINGER and I appreciate all the support I get. Most of the material sent is political, Tea Party-themed - which is great, although I usually tend to wave off politics because it's done elsewhere, and I don't have time enough to dedicate the energy & creative juices to do it right.

STORMBRINGER is a military blog, primarily dedicated to honoring heroes of the great US / UK / ANZAC / CANADA / ISRAEL Alliance in this conflict forced upon us by the Evildoers of Islamic Fundamentalism. Themes include reports on international security, great battles and notable events of military history, the greatness of Ancient Greece and Rome (and how the civilization of Ancient Rome still exists and prevails), the story of United States Army Special Forces (the Green Berets) and of course from time to time bits of my personal philosophy; inspired by Aristotle, Cicero, Atilla the Hun, John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, the Duke of Wellington, Winston Churchill, Ayn Rand and Rush Limbaugh, to name a few.

An essential ingredient of my personal philosophy - a.k.a. The Philosophy of STORMBRINGERISM - is what Ayn Rand refers to as laizee-faire capitalism. The phrase laissez-faire (pronounced: lah-zay-fair) is French and literally means "let do", but it broadly implies "let it be", or "leave it alone." In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies.

Also from Ayn Rand, I embrace the concept of Human Exceptionalism; the belief that human beings have special status in nature based on their unique capacities. This belief is the grounding for some naturalistic concepts of human rights. Taking it a step further, Rush Limbaugh describes the philosophy of American Exceptionalism: the theory that the United States is qualitatively different from other nations. This stems from our emergence from a revolution, and the uniquely American ideology, based on liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism and laissez-faire. This observation is traced to Alexis de Tocqueville, the first writer to describe the United States as "exceptional."

STORMBRINGERISM is also about the Cult of the 1911 and the individuals right to self-defense - up to and including lethal force - is a justifiable defense in a court of law:

The unwritten clause in my life insurance policy.

But, you say, how does this include the Great Alliance; our worthy allies the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel?

Simple: the American experience would not have been if the foundations of Democracy had not been laid in Britain, and before that in Ancient Rome, and before that Ancient Greece. In that, the UK is the Mother Country - has been and always will be - and by default this makes Canada, Australia and New Zealand our brothers and sisters.

But . . . but . . . what about tiny (yet MIGHTY) Israel?

Israel is the oldest country, and at the same time the youngest. The ancient Egyptian Empire and civilization has come and gone . . .

Nobody speaks in hieroglyphics anymore.

. . . and the people who built the pyramids are not the same folks who live in Egypt today. Likewise Babylon . . .

Nobody speaks in cuneiform anymore.

. . . it is gone, ground into the dust, even less of it left than in Egypt. There is still a Syria, but the ancient Assyrian Empire is dead and gone and it's people flung far and wide across the globe in diaspora.

Of these ancient kingdoms and empires of the Old Testament, only Israel remains, the smallest - yet most powerful - of all the countries of the Middle East.

The oldest country in the Middle East is also the only modern democracy in the Middle East.

Modern Israel exists because of Britain and the United States - if it was up to the rest of Europe and the Middle East there wouldn't even be anybody left to occupy a State of Israel. The Islamists - al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Mullah-led theocracy of Iran - view Israel as a Western foothold in their territory, much like the Crusader Kingdoms a thousand years ago. They - the radicals who have hijacked Islam - consider it only a question of time until they drive the Israelis into the sea and get that land back.

As such, Israel is with us, or like the Israeli girls say:

"Don't worry America - ISRAEL IS BEHIND YOU ! ! !"

"VISIT ISRAEL BEFORE ISRAEL VISITS YOU."

While we're on the subject of girls, women, chicks, sheilas, females, and members of the opposite sex - Israeli or otherwise - there was a bit of resistance when I first introduced the BIRDS OF STORMBRINGER; on the grounds that this would affect the way people view STORMBRINGER as a serious literary outlet - to which I replied "When did anybody take STORMBRINGER seriously in the first place?"

Here's the deal with The Birds: my brother is a journalist for an afternoon paper in a large American city in the Northeast. It's a tabloid format; he takes himself seriously so of course I always tease him; "If your paper was on the other side of the Atlantic, there'd be a Page 3 Girl." Warning! Warning! Danger Will Robinson: NSFW

Bar Refaeli from Israel was the first Bird featured in STORMBRINGER.

When I first signed up, SOLDIER Magazine always had a bikini babe featured on the back cover. Sometime toward the end of my first tour I picked up a copy of SOLDIER and flipped to the back page. Staring back at me was a sergeant; all cami'd up and in full battle rattle - talk about taking a hard dose of reality. The Birds of STORMBRINGER are a throwback to an earlier, simpler time when it was okay for a warrior to tape a pinup girl in his wall locker, or depict one on the nose of his mighty war machine:

Most of the Birds are fully-clothed compared to THIS Bird.

OK now we've covered THAT subject to death, let's get on with the weekly BLOG ROLL:


CHRIS ROCK DISSES THE TEA PARTY: "Tea Party is full of racists . . ."
What exactly are you basing that on, Chris?


Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price (Democrat) Tells Citizens, 'All Of You Are White! Go To Hell!'
These are the same folk who say the Tea Party full of racists.


TSA agents busted at JFK Airport for stealing $160,000 from checked bags.

I remember the Democrats insisting that airport security had to be a part of the Government because "Government equals professional" . . . I say: "This is your Government taking care of you."


CARTER: "Muslim Brotherhood nothing to be afraid of . . ."
Jimmy Carter should know; he never met a dictator or a terrorist he didn't like.


News networks may yank female reporters out of Egypt after rape of Lara Logan by Muslim mob.
Lara Logan was brutally raped by an Egyptian mob chanting "Jew! Jew!" in a crowded public square while covering the chaos in Cairo - tell me about that Muslim Brotherhood again, Mistuh Jimmuh?.


Egypt's Health Ministry says 365 killed in unrest . . . Labor unrest hits Egypt's strategic Suez Canal


ABCNEWS Correspondent Beaten in Bahrain Protests: At Least 2 Dead in Crackdown; ABC's Miguel Marquez Roughed Up.

The Fat Lady hasn't even BEGUN to sing on this Arab unrest thing yet . . .



. . . . . . . . . . SEAN LINNANE SENDS



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ATLAS SHRUGGED - THE MOVIE

If you only see one movie this year, SEE THIS MOVIE - S.L.





What happens to a society when the successful are punished?

What happens to a society when the government controls the economy?

What happens to a society when the will of the mob triumphs?

Who is John Galt?


Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957. It was Rand's fourth and last novel, also her longest, and is considered her magnum opus. The book explores a dystopian United States where leading innovators, ranging from industrialists to artists, refuse to be exploited by society. The protagonist, Dagny Taggart, Operating Vice-President of Taggart Transcontinental, a giant railroad company originally pioneered by her grandfather, sees society collapse around her as the government increasingly asserts control over all industry, while society's most productive citizens, led by the mysterious John Galt, progressively disappear. Galt describes the strike as "stopping the motor of the world" by withdrawing the "minds" that drive society's growth and productivity. In their efforts, these "men of the mind" hope to demonstrate that a world in which the individual is not free to create is doomed, that civilization cannot exist where men are slave to society and government, and that the destruction of the profit motive leads to the collapse of society.

The portrait of novelist / philosopher Ayn Rand for the United States postage stamp that honors her is done in the same iconic style of the cover art for her great novels. This powerful motif is suggestive of her philosophy of Objectivism, which emphasized individual rights (including property rights) and laissez-faire capitalism, enforced by a constitutionally limited government, and fiercely opposed all forms of collectivism and statism, including fascism, communism, socialism, and the welfare state.


Unlike the novel, the film opens with the disappearance of Midas Mulligan, before jumping forward twelve years to the dystopian United States. For twelve years the country has endured difficult economic times and public sentiment is rife with collectivism and calls for increasing government intervention in the economy. Dagny Taggart attempts to keep the company alive while her feckless brother, company president James Taggart, refuses to make difficult choices. Dagny meets the industrialist Hank Rearden – a self-made steel magnate of great integrity, who has recently developed a powerful new metal alloy called Rearden Metal – and Ellis Wyatt – a young, self possessed, hard working oil tycoon – and solicits their help in repairing and maintaining the rail network. As economic conditions worsen, corrupt government officials continue to extend their control of successful businesses. Added to Dagny's existing troubles is her gradual realization that the most able and diligent workers of her company – as well as of society at large – have been disappearing without a trace. A general malaise and sense of powerlessness spreads throughout the weary citizenry, encapsulated in a new phrase expressing helplessness and despair at the current state of the world, "Who is John Galt?" As the country's best and brightest continue to vanish, Dagny and Rearden go in search of the creator of a radical invention that could alter industry permanently. The film ends with Wyatt himself vanishing, leaving Dagny and Rearden the only egoists left in a now totalitarian country.

John Galt signs seen at TEA Party demonstrations throughout the United States leading up to the elections of November, 2010.

TEA Party = Taxed Enough Already


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